101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

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yth #79:
The Ark of the Covenant contained
the Ten Commandments.
The Myth: And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark
thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. (Exod. 25:21)
The Reality: The Ark contained an Egyptian serpent crown as the sign of God’s
kingship over Israel.
When Moses received God’s instructions about the proper form of worship, he
was told to build an ark to certain specifications and place the“testimony” therein. The
“testimony”was that writing on stone tablets that contained “a law and commandments.”
In the discussion of Myth #78, we saw that the traditional Ten Commandments
didn’t exist at the time of Moses, so he could not have actually placed them in the Ark
of the Covenant. But assuming for the sake of argument that the“testimony” and the
“Ten Commandments” were one and the same, let’s look at other issues related to the
contents of the Ark.
In some portions of the Bible, the ark is a mysterious icon loaded with magic
power, a protective talisman. For all practical purposes, it stood as a symbol of God
himself. Consider, for example, the following passage.
And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD,
and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
(Numb. 10:35–36)
The Bible often identifies the movement or presence of the ark with the movement
or presence of God. When the Ark moves forward into battle, God rises up, and when
it rests, God rests. In the history of Israel from Moses to Solomon, the Ark often
played a key role in Israelite affairs. Originally housed in Shiloh and associated with
the northern tribe of Ephraim, David had it removed to Jerusalem and Solomon